Umbrella rib tip



Jan. 2, 1940. CARUSLE 2,185,587

UMBRELLA RIB TIP Filed Sept. 24, I 1956 INVENTOR mm M Patented Jan. 2,11940 2,185,587 MBRELLA an; TIP "Richard WallaceCarlisle, Elmsford, N. Y. Application September 4, 193 Serial No. 102,259

13 c aims. (61.135 36) This invention .relates to blunt tips; for the ribs 'ofumbrellas the term umbrella being taken to include parasols'. i i

I At present many tips are differing prin- "5 cipally in the methods by which the fabric is attached to the tip; and the tip to the rib.. All of these present tips; however, are pointed at the ends and so-present a ,hazard to persons walking or standing. close to the openumbrella or parasol. It is the principal "object of my invention to remove this hazard by providing a blunt tip, while at the same time performing all the functions which the present day tips perform.

It is another objectv to prolongthelife of the fabric by reducing fabric stresses at the rib p H It isanother object ofzthisinvention to provide a tip which will beso'decorative as'to enhance theappearance of theentire umbrella.

It is another" object to effect economies by re-. ducing the number' of ribs'i'equire'd'.

According to my invention,'I provlde a rib end member widened alongthe periphery of the umbrella but flattened and disposed below the fabric, and a shallow decorative protrusion Onthe outside of the fabric.

Various methods of. constructing said rib end.

member and said-decorative member, separately or in one piece, are shown in the accompany ing drawing, in which I e Fig. 1 is a plan viewof a rib'and tip assembly wherein the tip isformed of a plastic member arranged to receive the rib and retain the fabric. Fig. '2 is a sectional view through the line 2-2 in Fig.5 shown in front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view alongthe line 3--3 of Fig. 5 shown in front elevation. Y

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a decorative insert which fits into the frame shown in Figs; 7 4oand8. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective View of a rib end assembly comprised of -a, widened rib end member made of pressed metal, a decorative insert and an end shell.

in Fig. 5. I Fig. 7 is a plan View of the end f piece shown in Figs. 5 and 6, before assembly.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the Fig. 7." I

Fig. 9 is an exploded view in perspective of a rib tip assembly showing a decorative tip formed of plastic material and mounted on a widened rib end member by means of awire insert.

shell of 7 solid piece.

ribv tip 22.

1 Fig. 6.is a plan view of theassembly shown Fig. 10 is an exploded means of buttons.

-Asingle molded or cast member 1 designed to perform the functions of the elongated support and of the decorative member is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The member l has ahole View of a of w I retaining the fabric on an elongatedjribtip by therein into which is inserted the rib R, which is affixed therein by means of the pins 8 closely fitting beside the corrugations 9 in the ribR.

The fabric Fis placed in the slot. it] andis held 1 by the seam oi the fabric and .by pins in the enlarged end portions H of the slot Ill. I

A simplified form of mounting the strip l6 of decorative material is shown in the exploded view of Fig. 5, in which the shell I-i shown in Figs. 7

and dis used as a frame forretaining the strip i5,..whil e the tongues l8 and]? are bentover inside the holes !9 to simultaneously. affix the shell H to the supporting member l5 and to anchor the'iabric F. Anotheramethod of deccrating the rib tip is to mount jewels in-the shell indicated in Fig.- 4;,

The supporting member pressed fromsheet metal, as indicatedvin the plan view of Fig. 6, or, cast or molded in a may, be. spot 'Wldfid, soldered or brazed to the rib R. If cast or molded, it may either be cast-or molded integrally with the rib R or afiixed in the manner shown in Fig.1;

One method of attaching a molded or'f'cast l5 may be I either I If constructed from sheet metal it decorative pieceis shown in Fig. 9, in which the 1 elongated metallic member 24 is molded or cast into the decorative, piece 23, or affixed to the under surface thereof by means suchas'solder ing' erbrazing. Thismember 24 is inserted inholes 25 during assembly and used to; anchor thev fabric and affix the member 23 in place on the Alternatively, the member 24' may be a screw. i V H Another method of jattaching the. fabric' is to use buttons 28. as shown ,in Fig. 10;. .Recesses 29 are provided in the rib tip;j3fi for the buttons whichshould preferably be of the form having no holes on the outside but an eye 32 on the inside. The buttons 28 may alternatively be sewn in place or attached by staples to theholes and 3!. sewed in place without the use of buttons;

No restriction is placed on the position, of

Alternatively, the fabric -may be, H

holes 29 and 3!, as to whether theyshould' be on the front, top, or sides of member 30,

Inall of these'designs, the life of the fabric I is considerably increased over standarddesigns,

because the large area over which the fabric is attached at each rib .tip results in lowered fabric stresses. 7

In the design of rib tips according to my invention, no restrictions are placed uponthe relative thickness and width of each tip, or upon the angles at which said tips may be set, in order to allow the widest latitude for decorative design. Neither is any restriction placed upon the thickness of the member which is retained afiixed over the fabric, as 'l' in Fig. .3 and i"! in Fig. 6. I

It may be seen that an umbrella maybe con structed with a reduced number of ribs when each rib is equipped with a broadened tip, which will effect a considerable economy .in manufaca ture.

'Other methods of constructing a widenedtip and decorating it may be used, but the -combi -na tion of safety and decorative features is claimed as follows: I

1. A blunt tip for an umbrella rib comprised of a member much broader than said rib, in com:

bination with a covering, said broad member being disposed along said rib extending inwardly fromthe outer end thereof and-substantially in a plane juxtaposed to said covering, and said member having along the outer edge thereof means for afiixing said covering thereto.

2. The combination with an umbrella having a covering, of a rib having a multi sided' tip much broader across the end than said rib and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom, the outer side of said tip being parallel .to and near the edge of said covering.

3; A blunt tip for an umbrella rib comprised of a broad body of molded material, in combination with a covering, said molded body being disposed along said ribextending inwardly from the outerend thereof and in a plane below and juxtaposed to the under side of said covering, and means for affixingsaid covering to said broad body along the outer edge thereof.

4. The combination-with an umbrella rib of a tip having a widened end with a groove along the outer edge thereof, a covering, and means for retaining said covering in said groove. s

5. The combination with an umbrella rib of a tip having a widened end with a groove along the outer edge thereof, acovering, and meansfor retaining said covering in said groove at each end thereof.

'6. An umbrella tip having a broadened tip, in

combination with a covering conforming to the outer surface thereof and a shell disposed over said covering on the end of said tip.

7. The combination with an umbrella rib of a widened tip, a covering and means for attaching said covering to said tip comprised of a shell partially enclosing the outermost edge of said widened tip.

8. In combination, a blunt tip for an umbrella rib comprised of a broad solid body, and means for aifixing said body to said rib comprised of undulations formed along saidrib near the end thereof, an elongated hole in-said body, and means for retaining said rib in said hole utilizing. a

clamping action upon said undulations.

9. A blunttip for an umbrella rib comprised of a three-corneredmember, meansfor aflixin'g said member rigidly to sai'drib at one oorner,*in1 1 combination with a. covering and means forafiix} ing said coveringonto saiolinember along the side of said'member oppcsite 'to the cornerat inserted. I .10. Ablunt tip for an umbrella rib comprised of a three-cornered Inemben means for afiixing said member rigidly tofsaid rib at one corner, m

combination with-a coveringand means for aflixing said covering onto said member along the side of said member opposite to the corner atj which said rib is amxed,fcomprised of a slot in saidimember' substantially parallel to the edge thereof into jwhich the edge of said covering is inserted, and means in association with said-slot for retaining said covering within-said slot. 1' v of a three-cornered member, means for "afiixi ngv said member rigidly to said rib at one corner, in combination with a covering and means for affixing said covering onto said member along the side of said member oppositeto thecor-ner' at I which said rib is afiixed, comprised of a slot in said member substantially"parallel to theedge thereof into which the edge of saidcovering'is': inserted, andmeans in association with said 'slot for retaining said covering within said s1ot,;com 5: f

prised of means for wedging said covering "into I said slot. I Y

12. A-blunt tip'for-an umbrellasrib comprised I of a'three-cornered member, means for aiiixing" said member rigidly tosaidrib at onecornen'in' combination with a covering and means for affixwhich said rib is aiiixed comprised of aslot in said member substantially parallel to the edge for retaining said covering'within said slot, comprised of means-for Wedging said covering said slot at each end thereof. v

13. A blunt for an umbrella rib comprised I v of a broad solidbody disposed substantially in plane below the umbrella covering and extending along the'peripliery thereof, means for attaching said covering to said body; and means for attaching said bo dyto saidrib comprised of undulations formed along said rib near the end thereof, an elongated hole in said body disposed,

radially'with respect to the outer edge thereof, and means for retaining said rib'in said hole utilizingthe undulatory nature of the surface of said rib.

RICHARD WALLACE CA'RLISLQE.1YI

1 1. A blunt tip for an umbrella rib comprised 

